


Under Scarlet Skies

by TasteTheHemospectrum



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Ancient Egyptian Deities, Human Sacrifice, Humanstuck, M/M, ancient egyptian au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-05-14 22:43:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14778668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TasteTheHemospectrum/pseuds/TasteTheHemospectrum
Summary: Human sacrifices were very uncommon by the time Karkat came into the world. Just his luck that he'd be an exception.Ancient Egyptian AU





	1. Chapter 1

    Karkat’s future was not decided since birth. He didn’t have a destiny that was written in the stars or a fate told to his mother by some nutcase with incense when she was still pregnant. All of that predestination bullshit was exactly that: a steaming, pungent heap of bovine excrement. That’s because no one’s life is written out like a story book. Free will is how people decide where to go in life, or at least it should be. Ideally, everyone gets the opportunity to do what they want in life, but in reality, man is cruel and always wants to put his pudgy little sausage fingers into other people’s business.

    Karkat would have loved to spend his life as a teenager helping his mother and sister on the family farm until he would be old enough to start ascending to new statuses and make his way up the social ladder. Unfortunately, he was apparently too pretty for that.

    These days, sacrifices to the gods were rare, but every once in a while, someone had the misfortune of being seen almost too valuable to keep from the higher powers. Of course, value had to be measured by looks because the more desirable someone was, the more they were worth to others, so therefore if a bunch of people were fawning over someone, the logical thing to do would be to hand that someone over to the gods.

    With Karkat’s luck, he wasn’t even allowed to enjoy his own attractive appearance. Those round, passion-filled eyes and curvilinear, nigh-feminine contours became his downfall by the time he was old enough to attend a merchant’s school, which he never even got the chance to do. Despite being part of the lowest caste in society, everyone seemed to unanimously decide that, judging by one of the few things out of his control, Karkat unquestionably had to be given up to one god or another.

    Priests of every cult disputed almost to the point of physical fighting over him when he first begrudgingly showed his face at one of the many festivals in Thebes. Eventually, they decided that he would be sacrificed to Horus, the great god of the sky. Karkat knew he should’ve felt flattered that he was the subject of so many nobles’ arguments, honored even. After all, everyone told him so. Yet it was quite on the contrary.

    Rage didn’t exactly describe the emotion that burgeoned deep in the pits of his stomach when he was told that a bunch of strangers had just decided to take his future into their greedy, grasping palms. It was more like that indignant, overwhelming mix of fury and disbelief and hopelessness one generally feels in a moment of helplessness that makes the face red and wet with the sudden onslaught of dense, unbridled feeling. Karkat was told when he was only a boy, no older than twelve, and he threw a tantrum like he was half his age. It lasted for days, even if the shouting and weeping didn’t make it to dinner. He isolated himself until his impending responsibilities forced him back out under the sweltering sun and stares of others.

    No amount of sulking would ever change a thing when it came down to it. He could grovel and beg on each cult’s doorstep and still never sway a single heart. He gave up trying early on, but that didn’t mean he became complacent. Thus, Karkat grew up to have calluses on his fingers and scorching embers in his heart.

    Knowing he’d eventually be thrown to the gods like a scrap of meat was bad enough, but once his so called destiny was locked into place, life changed. He was still allowed to work on the farm with his mother and sister; they had needed all the help they could get since his father left his mother a few months after Karkat was conceived. Days alternated between working on the land and others pampering his body. Today, he’d tend to the livestock, and tomorrow, someone would (attempt to) groom his perpetually-messy hair. After hours of having his nails trimmed and treated, there would be dirt under them again by sunrise the next morning. The constant coddling was supposedly necessary so that the gods would be more likely to see him in good condition if they ever happened to gaze down upon Karkat, but he only felt objectified and ridiculous every time some stranger with glittering jewelry or gleaming hair laid delicate fingers on his skin.

* * *

    Karkat couldn’t decide whether time moved all too slowly or much too quickly in the expanse between learning of his future and finally fulfilling it. The days spent dwelling on his anxieties under the hands of strangers moved like the lethargic herds of cattle that ambled lazily through the shores of the Nile. When the time of his departure came, however, he resented himself for not appreciating those days when he still had the opportunity to.

    A couple days after the beginning of akhet, priests came. The floodwaters had only just begun to rise, and Karkat was helping his mother prepare their harvest for storage behind their modest excuse for a home when his older sister, Kanaya, had found the two of them late in the evening. She told him that some clergymen had arrived, and he already knew what that meant. She and their mother accompanied Karkat inside and to the open door, where several priests stood between them and a considerable crowd. He could feel his innards constricting with anticipation, but not a hint of fear was visible in his expression.

    The head priest exchanged few words with the three of them before it was declared that Karkat would be leaving with them shortly. The crowd murmured with excitement; human sacrifices were always a rare occasion and therefore widely celebrated whenever they occurred. The turnout was actually smaller than Karkat had expected.

    Before Karkat could leave with them, he had to be prepared. After all, he couldn’t be offered up to a god with mud caked around his ankles and wearing grass-stained rags that smelled of numerous different animals. He begrudgingly bathed until he no longer smelled like manure, and afterwards, he was dressed in the ceremonial vestment and adorned enough glimmeringgold to satisfy the priests.

    Once it finally came time for him to say goodbye, he lingered before his tiny family, reluctant to go. When he hugged his mother, she whispered to him: “Good luck. I love you.” She was always proud of him for being blessed with such an honorable purpose. It seemed only his sister really wanted him to stay.

    “Don’t go,” Kanaya murmured into his dark hair once she yanked him into a tight embrace. “We can still run away. We can go into the desert and eat scorpions every day and fight any damn priests or gods or anyone else who’d come looking for us.”

    Karkat clutched the hem of her shirt, trying to savor his last moments with the person who mattered most to him. “Shit, you know how much I wish we could, but we both know you need to be here instead of lying dead in the desert.” He rested his forehead atop her shoulder. He refused to let himself cry, knowing that she was trying just as hard to keep her composure.

    After a couple minutes, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. He rolled his shoulder, attempting to drive off whoever was trying to grab him, but they persisted. “Time to go,” growled an unfamiliar voice behind him.

    Karkat and Kanaya exchanged one last goodbye before he turned to face the priest who was now gripping his shoulder. Karkat swatted his hand away. “Don’t fucking touch me,” he snarled before stalking past him and through the doorway with the angriest look that he could muster. His expression only softened when he glanced back at his mother and sister, who offered him a wave and a pair of sad smiles before the priest stepped behind him. Karkat lifted his chin, trying to act dignified after the priest nudged him out into the street. Another took his forearm and led him to a camel without a rider. He shot her a glare when she tried to help him mount it and climbed on himself.

* * *

    The ride was long and tedious to say the least. Along the way, they had accumulated a much bigger crowd. The buzz of the congregation around Karkat grew into a roar of voices and rhythmic sounds. Most talked excitedly amongst themselves while others sang, and some even played the instruments they had brought for the trek. The flourishing noise did not seem to fit the darkening sky as night gradually fell. By the time the half moon had crept over the distant horizon, they were being led by the soft, warm glow of lanterns while the cacophony dwindled to gentle murmurs and the muted thumping of drums. The firelight barely illuminated the gloom enveloping the horde enough for him to see the patterns on the burgundy cloth under him as he listlessly traced them to pass the time.

    Eventually, they left the lush green of the riparian lands behind and the pillowy soil under the camel’s feet became crunching sand. When they came to an abrupt stop, Karkat looked up to see immense brick walls towering over him. Everything went dead silent. He felt a flicker of anxiety deep in his gut, but he immediately snuffed it out and put on a brave face. The head priest, who stood directly in front of him, turned to face the crowd.

    “Horus, mighty god of the sky and protector of our lands, we bring you an offering,” the priest called into the sky. “Grant us safe passage through your temple in that we may deliver unto you one of our finest men for you to do as you will to satisfy your holiest desires!”

     Karkat scoffed and rolled his eyes. This guy was making him sound more like a concubine than a human sacrifice. As the priest continued shouting to the heavens like a fucking fruitcake, Karkat tuned him out until two of his subordinates drew open the weighty temple doors. When they led his camel through, the civilians remained outside while only he and the other priests entered.

    The doors shut behind them with a thud, and the brazen lamp light vanished. It was instantly too dark to see a thing other than the sky, and none of the priests had even brought so much as a candle. Apparently, being able to see anything more than five inches away from your face isn’t part of the ritual. Actually, scratch that. After a couple seconds of staring into the darkness, Karkat could make out one silhouette in subdued relief to the faint scintillating of stars in the sky. A colossal structure stood proud and tall, jet black against its inky indigo backdrop. As they approached it, Karkat could feel the ground, which was dirt once more, gradually slope upwards.

    The building’s size seemed to grow and grow the closer they came until everyone finally stopped. Karkat cursed under his breath in momentary alarm when he felt a cold hand grab his ankle before he realized what they wanted him to do. With an intentionally loud groan that faintly echoed off the walls around them, he slid off his camel, and his sandals hit the ground with twin dampened slaps. It took several shushes from several people to make him stop grumbling to himself as he was led up the incline to the bottom of what felt like stone stairs. He could at least figure that much when his left foot jammed into the first step.

    “Fuck,” Karkat hissed, before receiving a warning slap on the wrist, literally. Either he wasn’t supposed to cuss, or he wasn’t supposed to speak, or it was both. Probably both.

    The stairs seemed endless. Karkat was beginning to wonder if the sun would rise while they climbed on. To his relief, they reached a plateau after a little more than five minutes. When he tried to continue on forward, however, someone else grasped his forearm and pulled him to the right. He let out a little frustrated grunt and followed where they led, more or less against his will with that steel grip they kept just above his wrist. He felt like a child.

    Karkat got a faceful of linen when the person abruptly stopped, and he was barely able to keep his mouth shut. By the audible disappearance of any other footsteps around them, it sounded like all the other priests had stopped, too.

    “Oh, great guardian,” the head priest shouted out all of a sudden, his voice quietly echoing within the confines of the temple, “please accept our offering!” The grasp that had not yet loosened on Karkat’s arm dragged him to the front of the crowd, where Karkat’s ears were already ringing from the harsh volume of the priest’s voice. He made a face at the sensation of the man’s cool finger pads dragging across his eyebrows and cheeks and eyelids, leaving invisible markings of the god who would receive him. If his dominant arm wasn’t still being held in front of him, he would have smacked away those hands the moment he felt them. “Karkat Maryam, you now exist under the hands of the almighty Horus.” The man leaned down. “Behave,” he muttered before Karkat was suddenly shoved forwards.

    Karkat heard a door slam shut behind him, and everything was drenched in unbearable silence. He looked up. For the first time tonight, he couldn’t see the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of research went into this project, so I'm really excited to continue it! The original plan was to just rewrite an old roleplay I had, but after delving deep enough into all the history and mythology, I scrapped it entirely and took things in my own direction.  
> Special thanks goes out to my small editing team of friends and my pal ezra (voidhopper on tumblr) for helping me come up with the title!  
> I've also created a blog specifically for this fic, so here's a link to the first post, which explains some parts of this chapter: https://underscarletskies.tumblr.com/post/174340261010/chapter-1-notes-what-is-akhet-akhet-is-the


	2. Chapter 2

    Karkat didn’t sleep that night. He knew he should feel nervous at least. Instead, he only felt too exhausted to feel anything more than impatience, despite the fact that he would probably either reach a gruesome end at the hands of a god by morning or slowly die of dehydration alone in the dark room he currently laid in. Outside, he could hear the first downpour of the season, the monotonous thrumming of hot rain imitating the dull echo of emotion inside of him. 

    Before long, the dry heat that filled the chamber became feverish humidity, and Karkat was left panting under the suffocating weight of the air. He was grateful for the contrasting chilly stone under his side as he passed the time by idly rolling granules of dirt under his finger pads. 

    Tired and overheated as he was, restlessness soon outweighed Karkat’s lethargy, so he got up to wander. He found a wall and ghosted his fingertips over its clean carvings as he walked alongside it. In minutes, he found the outline of the door and used it as a starting point when he began to circle the perimeter of the sweltering room. After finding it again, he immediately laid down flat on his sticky back with a thud, accompanied by the jangling of his loose necklaces as they slung over his shoulder. The air was much cooler closer to the ground, and the floor was wonderfully refreshing to the touch, even through the back of his sweat-drenched shirt. 

    Sometime in the night, Karkat was finally overtaken by the featherlight hands of slumber. He didn’t even realize he had fallen asleep until he was abruptly woken by the sound of movement just outside the door. Karkat immediately sat up and bit back a reflexive groan from the soreness saturating every muscle in his back. He forced himself to rise to his feet, preparing to meet whoever was trying to get in. 

    The door leisurely eased open, and it took Karkat a few moments to adjust to the bright midday light that poured in. He blinked a few times and squinted, already able to make out the outline of figure standing before him. Karkat rubbed his eyes a couple times and glared at the floor instead until it stopped hurting before trying to look up again. This time, he could see much more clearly. 

    The guy patiently waiting for his response was slightly taller than Karkat and maybe a couple years older than him. Compared to his telltale southern complexion, the dense coils of his hair were faded to an almost unnatural blonde tint, framed by the intricate designs shaved into the black buzzed hair on the sides of his head. He was shirtless; Karkat tried not to even so much as glance down at his lean body. It was pretty difficult not to, though, when there were no eyes for him to meet. Instead, the man only wore a carmine, silk blindfold that had faint scars peeking out around the edges of the fabric. 

    “Who the hell are you?” Karkat demanded. Obviously, he wasn’t any kind of priest, and he didn’t look like a giant bird man or divine, larger-than-life god. The stranger’s deadpan expression broke out into a lopsided grin, which only pissed Karkat off even more. “Well? Can you speak at all?”

    The guy let out an amused huff of air through his nose. “Shit yeah, I can. You can call me Dave.” 

    Karkat rolled his eyes, hoping that simple action alone would be loud enough for Dave to hear. “Yeah, that sure explains a lot.” Since it was pretty evident that Dave wasn’t intent on killing him, Karkat pushed past him and stepped outside, purposely bumping his shoulder into Dave’s in a less-than- amicable manner. He was more than done with that cramped, empty space. 

    In daylight, the temple seemed like a dreamy mirage. Outside the ornate brick walls, they were surrounded with an endless, amorphic, sandy landscape. In the distance, he could barely discern the verdant green of the land adjacent to the Nile. Within the enclosure, there was a perfectly symmetrical arrangement of numerous gardens and courtyards and even coupled twin lakes. Among them stood proud sculptures of the gods that were enormous enough for Karkat to see from where he stood, along with pairs of towering obelisks brilliant with colors and gold. Within the lush greenery, there was gentle movement as people worked busily within them.

    While Karkat was seemingly entranced by his new surroundings, Dave joined him at his side as if admiring the scenery with him. “Looks pretty damn nice, don’t it?” he joked. 

    Karkat scrunched up his nose and chose to ignore the comment. He was still too busy trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Dave shrugged and turned, heading for the stairs instead of continuing to needle him. Karkat, having nothing better to do, followed him and descended the stone steps behind him. 

    “Who are these people?” Karkat asked after passing between the first two identical gardens. 

    “Attendants, I guess. They don’t really have a title or anything,” Dave answered nonchalantly. A dark-skinned girl, who was kneeling in the loam and carefully watering some vibrant flowers, looked up and waved at them. “They were all human sacrifices. You’ll probably end up doing this kind of thing too.” 

    “Probably?”

    “Probably.” Dave paused and grinned. “Unless we decide to eat you instead.” Karkat blanched, and Dave laughed. “I’m just fucking with you. Don’t worry, man. No one’s gonna hurt you here.”

    The color rapidly returned to Karkat’s face, along with a vivid, angry blush. He already had several bitter retorts to throw right back at him, but he decided not to piss this guy off just yet. He still needed answers. By now, he had caught up and was now walking by Dave’s side. He glanced up at the exposed ends of scars that latticed across the tops of his cheeks and the base of his forehead. For some reason, he found it hard to believe that he was safe from harm here. “Then who did that to you? Was it Horus?” He pointed to his face like a moron.

    “What, you mean my eyes?” Dave tapped the crest of his cheekbone. 

    “No, I mean your flat ass,” Karkat scoffed somewhat defensively to make up for such a dimwitted gesture that Dave didn’t even see.

    Dave disregarded his reply. “No, it’s from my brother. Horus would never do something like that.”

    Karkat opened his mouth to ask yet another question, but before a single word escaped, the two of them were approached by a couple of “attendants” carrying large baskets filled with wrapped goods. They were clearly brother and sister. They both had the same light skin, possibly of Arabic origin, with facial features similar down to their slight overbites. They even dressed similarly, although the girl kept the messy ringlets of her long hair loose against her back while the boy had his wrapped in a faded blue turban. Karkat would have assumed they were identical twins if not for their strikingly different eye colors; the boy’s were an abnormal greyish blue while the girl’s were such a brilliant green that they could be seen from half a mile away. 

    “Hey, Dave,” chimed the brother. All four came to a stop in an intersection of dirt paths. 

    “Sup, John. Jade. Find anything out front?”

    “Yeah, they left a ton of food. Too much to carry,” John’s sister answered before he could. “We’re gonna have to go back out later to get the rest. Can we get someone to help?”

    “If you can convince anyone. I think Tavros has kitchen duty today, so he shouldn’t be doing anything right now. Go bug him and see if he’ll help,” Dave told them.

    “Alright, thanks!” Jade went split off the path, leaving the three of them. 

    “Is this the sacrifice?” John asked, eyeing Karkat. 

    “I have a name,” Karkat snapped.

    “Yeah, well they did not leave a note, so how should I know?” John quipped. 

    “I dunno, you could maybe try asking,” Karkat shot right back. 

    “But that’s not even what I wanted to know in the first place!”

    “Well, there are still much less shit-headed ways of wording your question!”

    “Oh, my bad for not using the formalities I would put in a letter to the fucking Pharaoh! But fine, if you are so set on having me use your name,  _ stranger _ , then why don’t you tell me it?”

    “I don’t think you deserve to know.”

    “Fuck you!” 

    Karkat stepped forwards, ready to fight in lieu of a verbal response. He’d had his fair share of skirmishes in the past, and though he’d lost a majority of them, he still wanted to leave John with a few bruises. Judging by the look in John’s eyes, he was ready to accept that challenge.

    “Chill,” Dave firmly intervened, at last. “Yes, John, he is the sacrifice. Which is why you should leave him alone. Goddamn.” He turned to Karkat. “On a side note, would it kill you to actually tell us your name?” 

    Karkat shot John one last glare and crossed his arms. “It’s Karkat.”

    John smiled, although it seemed more than a little insincere. “Hi, Karkat. I’m John.” 

    “Better. I think Jade might need some help peer pressuring Tav into actually doing shit. So, bye.” Dave, facing John again, waved him off dismissively. John flicked his thumb at Karkat before heading off in the same direction Jade had gone. “I don’t need you making enemies here,” Dave muttered as he continued down the path again. “Or else we’ll find something else that’ll eat you, understood?”

    “Okay, okay, don’t piss anyone off because I’m stuck here forever. I got it.”

    “Good. You aren’t getting a second warning.”

    Karkat was no longer in the mood to keep asking questions, so they walked in silence as he sulked to himself. Eventually, they slowed to a stop between the only two lakes in the temple. They were both of impressive sizes, both in distance and depth. After looking closer into the murky water, Karkat spotted a school of minnows by the edge of one of them. At the other side, a boy and a girl both sat on the edge with their feet submerged to their calves, too deep in conversation to notice Karkat or Dave. Past the lakes was the entrance to the temple, where the enormous, ornate stone doors were only cracked open. 

    “What was the point of this?” Karkat finally asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. 

    Dave shrugged, not even bothering to turn and face him. “I thought you’d appreciate some kind of walkthrough so you can at least start to get used to being here. Would you’ve preferred if I just left you alone in that room to figure shit out yourself?” That last part was a bitter sting intended to put Karkat in his place. 

    “I’m not fucking stupid, you know. I’m not some helpless toddler that you need to guide down literally a straight path and right back while holding hands the entire time. I could’ve figured this shit out on my own if I wanted to,” Karkat answers fervently, his anger resurfacing. 

    “Hasn’t anyone ever taught you how to say thank you?” Dave let out an exasperated groan. “I know I didn’t  _ have _ to do you a favor, but I did anyways because I’m actually nice, unlike you.”

    Karkat scoffed. “Talk about pretentious. Has anyone ever told you that you’re an annoying, pompous douchebag? Oh wait, I know the answer. It’s a no, because it looks like whoever the hell runs this place decided to put a blind asshole in charge of the rest of the assholes here.”

    “Oh my gods, you’re such a fucking dipshit. I run this place. Obviously.” 

    “Fuck you and your superiority complex. Where’s your fucking manager. Is Horus even here?” 

    Dave spun around to face him, his face harboring the coldest expression Karkat had ever seen. It infuriated him even more. “Gods, you really are the most dim-witted human I’ve ever had the misfortune of being in the general vicinity of. How haven’t you figured it out yet?” He crossed his arms. 

    “Figured what out?” Karkat was on the verge of shouting now that he suddenly felt left in the dark about some huge inside joke. 

    Dave tilted his head down, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed loudly. “I  _ am _ Horus, you jackass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional information about the chapter can be found here: https://underscarletskies.tumblr.com/post/174588293470/chapter-2-notes  
> Once again, a huge thank you to my editing team for taking time out of their lives to help me with this!


	3. Chapter 3

    “You have got to be shitting me.”

    Dave rolled his eyes. “You and I may both be dumbasses, but do you really think I’d be a big enough schmuck to impersonate a fucking god in his own temple?”

    “Well if you’re lying, then yeah, I’d believe it.” Karkat laughed bitterly. “You act conceited enough to be the guy who goes from the town jewel to the deranged windbag on the side of the road shrieking about how you’re the almighty Ra himself.”

    Dave grinned. “Holy hell, how have you managed to survive this long? Hasn’t _anyone_ tried to kill you at least once?” Karkat opened his mouth to say something in reply, but apparently the question was rhetorical because Dave continued, suddenly much calmer. “Repeat to me what the one rule I’ve told you so far is.”

    “Why should I?” Karkat challenged.

    “Because I’m certain you also remember the consequences of disobeying that single, simple rule,” Dave stated, arms crossed and expression perfectly neutral and threatening at the same time. Maybe it was the very slight downward tilt of the corner of his mouth. Maybe it was the barely-noticeable crease that had appeared between his stark blond eyebrows. Maybe it was strange feeling Karkat was getting in his stomach that filled him with self-doubt and made him feel as though he was rapidly shrinking before the supposed god awaiting his answer.

    Karkat hadn’t even realized he was staring blankly at his blindfold until both his gaze and his head abruptly dropped, breaking whatever cobwebs of tension. “Don’t make enemies,” he recited.

    “Damn right,” Dave muttered as he walked past Karkat. He made a low sweeping motion at his side, indicating that Karkat should follow him. They walked together  again, accompanied by the wind whipping their clothes against their bodies and making Karkat’s sacrificial jewelry jangle. This time, Dave was the one to break the verbal silence. “So you’re shit at following directions. That’s good to know. At least now I have a decent idea of the things I can trust you with.”

    Karkat had definitively decided that he hated it here. “And those things are…?”

    “Watering the plants, with supervision. Weeding the gardens, with supervision.  Pruning the shrubbery, with supervision. That sort of thing.”

    “So basically, I’m a gardener with absolutely no autonomy whatsoever?” His anger was coming back, and it was coming back fast.

    “Exactly.” Dave stated it like a simple fact.

    “Fuck that. I’d rather die than have you breathing down my neck until you decide I’m responsible enough to pour water on a fucking flower.” Karkat knew he should watch what he says. Although he still didn’t completely believe Dave was telling the truth, he knew that here, Dave likely had the authority to easily get away with taking those words literally and ending his life right then and there. Yet that didn’t stop Karkat from making sure he knew just how much he hated Dave’s presence already.

    Luckily, Dave overlooked his figurative request and continued. “I never said _I’d_ be the one supervising you. What makes you think I wanna be around you and your shit personality any more than I have to be?” He was quiet for a couple seconds, obviously making a decision. A mischievous grin spread across his face. “I wonder if I can convince John to watch you for now.”

    “ _What?!_ ” Karkat was shouting at this point, but he couldn’t care less. “How’s that any better?!”

    Dave only laughed. “It’s not supposed to be better for you. It’s better for me. The less I am around you, the better life is for me.”

    “Wow, glad to know you care,” Karkat replied sourly.

    “You’re welcome.” Dave took a turn, leading Karkat down a narrow walkway between the vibrant colors of the gardens. Ahead of them was the wall with a much broader path flush to it. They followed it to a series of scattered stone buildings. Each structure was the size of a small house and basic looking. Dave escorted Karkat to one of the relatively larger buildings, which was still dwarfed by the main sanctuary standing tall beside it. He opened the door without knocking and entered, expecting Karkat to join him. Of course, he did. He didn’t _want_ to, but he got the impression that he didn’t have a choice here.

    The interior of the building looked like a rather large kitchen. There were several ovens and an enormous stone hearth, along with various cooking implements, foods, and burning fuels that embellished the walls and meters of countertop. To the side were numerous baskets of goods akin to what John and Jade were carrying in when Karkat met them. The place didn’t just look like a really big kitchen; it _was_ a really big kitchen.

    That’s not what Karkat was focused on right now, though. He remained standing in the open doorway, watching Dave as he approached John, Jade, and another light skinned boy he didn’t recognize. The three seemed to be very invested in a conversation that consisted of John and Jade uttering various pleas while the other boy seemed to be squirming under the pressure.

    “Come on, Tavros, you’re not even doing anything,” Jade insisted.

    “Why can’t you just take two trips?” Tavros whined.

    “We already took two trips,” John moaned, pulling at Tavros’s sleeve like a needy toddler, “and we have hardly cleared out half of it. My feet hurt.”

    Tavros was about to reply, but he noticed Dave and fell silent. John and Jade both turned to look at him as well when he stepped between them.

    “Tavros, dinner can wait. Go with the twins already before it starts raining again.” Dave glanced back at Karkat over his shoulder. “You’re going with them, by the way.”

    “Fucking knew it,” Karkat muttered.

    “Great. Thanks, Dave,” John sulked. “Love you too.”

    Dave kissed his fingers, turned his palm flat, and blew the imaginary kiss to John. Both he and Karkat rolled their eyes simultaneously. “You two better be best friends by sundown or else dinner ain’t happening for either of you, got it?” Dave pointed in the general directions of John and Karkat with both hands. The two of them groaned, and Jade snickered behind him.

    “Okay, mom, jeez. Can we go now?” John crossed his arms.

    “You better. Those storm clouds aren’t gonna wait for you all to get your feels on all day. Besides, I wanna talk to you about some shit once you’re done.” Dave patted John’s shoulder. “Now get going. That includes you, Tav.” Tavros flicked his thumb at him, and Dave did it right back, to the twin’s obvious amusement.

    “You heard him, assholes,” Jade announced and dragged Tavros towards the door by his ear. He grumbled a few protests but followed, as did John. Dave, intending to leave as well, was right behind them.

    Nearest to the door, Karkat stepped out first but took the rear. The wind had picked up noticeably and tossed Karkat’s curly bangs back along the top and sides of his head. “Let’s just get this over with,” he muttered, blinking in the harsh gale.

    Dave left the group as soon as they were out the door, and everyone quickly fell silent as they navigated through the gardens back to the main path. Eventually, the twins began whispering to each other, but that didn’t last long. Once it escalated into a very engrossing argument, Tavros fell back to walk beside Karkat, who had to keep a little more distance with Jade’s long hair whorling in the wind behind her.

    “So, what’s your name?” Tavros asked tentatively.

    “Karkat. I’m guessing you’re Tavros.” Karkat received a nod in response, and he sighed. “Is everyone here enormous dicks, or is it just Horus?”

    Tavros laughed softly, contently gazing ahead of them. “Some people here can be kind of mean sometimes, but I don’t think Dave is one of them. He’s really not that bad.”

    Karkat snorted. “I doubt it.” And then he paused. “Why do you all call him Dave? It’s dumb, and it’s not even his real name.”

    “It’s what he wants to be called.” Tavros shrugged. “I don’t think Horus is really a name. At least, it isn’t to him. I guess he thinks it’s more like a title or something...” He gradually trailed off when he looked up and frowned. The way he slid his fingers through the thick plume of dark hair on his head seemed to be an act of anxiety, which Karkat could understand, considering what was occurring above them. The feathered shade of clouds quickly fell over them, followed by a subtle cooling in the air.

    “I guess the rain is coming sooner than Dave thought it would,” Karkat murmured. Ahead of them, a thick, grey haze was rapidly approaching from behind the temple’s anterior.

    “ _Shit!_ ” John shouted. As it came closer, a constant rushing noise could be heard, and the blurred grey sharpened into a curtain of torrenting rain. John and Jade broke out into a sprint. Shortly after, Karkat and Tavros caught up, overwhelmed with adrenaline. They reached the downpour before the temple gates and were greeted with the warm, noisy splatter of the heavy rain. By the time they arrived at their destination, everyone was drenched to the skin, and Karkat could barely see with his sopping hair falling in front of his eyes. When he tried to brush his bangs back, they stuck to his forehead for a couple seconds, only to be driven right back by the water cascading down his face.

    The group slowed to a walk so that they could all catch their breath and slip through the crack in the gates, one by one. John and Jade especially needed the break, since they had begun laughing halfway through the run. Karkat internally admitted that it was somewhat fun, but he managed to suppress the grin that pulled at the corners of his mouth. Tavros, on the other hand, had a wide smile just like the others by the time they came to a stop.

    That brief feeling of childish euphoria quickly vanished when Karkat passed through the gap in the stone when it was his turn to, and it looked like the sight that awaited him had the same effect on the others. A great deal of the remaining offerings were unsalvageable. The once sumptuous-looking loaves of bread in the baskets had already been reduced to soggy pulp, and scented oils eddied through the sand between their feet. No one spoke for several seconds, as they were utterly consumed by the initial distress. Only the persistent rainfall murmured around them.

    John stood with his arms akimbo, sizing up the situation while Jade went ahead and took off her upper piece of her soaked garb. “Might as well take what we can get,” she muttered, now bare-chested, as she passed by Karkat to cover one of the baskets.

    “ _Ewww_. No one wants to look at your boobs, Jade,” John whined incessantly over the swelling sound of the intensifying downpour before he belatedly took off his top as well. Tavros and Karkat had already followed Jade’s example, and John covered the remaining basket.

    “No one cares, John,” she chimed and hoisted up her cargo.

    “Well _I_ care. I do not want to look at my sister’s boobs.” John huffed out an irritated breath and pouted at her. Jade only flashed a passive-aggressive smile at him and brushed past him to head back into the temple.

    “John, no one cares that you care,” Karkat stated as he picked up his share of the offerings and followed Jade.

    “What happened to us having to be friends?” John reminded him after catching up a couple seconds later. “I don’t know about you, but I actually _want_ to eat dinner tonight.”

    Karkat’s stomach betrayed him at what might have been the worst moment possible. It was a surprise he hadn’t been reminded of his hunger in the kitchen, although he supposed that he had been more or less distracted by his anger at the time.

    “Like I was saying,” John continued with a conceitedgrin spread across his face. Karkat wanted to punch it. “I think your stomach and I both agree that fighting like babies isn’t worth skipping tonight’s awesome menu, right, Tav?” He raised his voice at the end to get Tavros’s attention, who was in deep conversation with Jade ahead of them.

    “What?” Tavros shouted over his shoulder.

    “Nothing, you can go back to flirting with my sister,” John called back. Tavros’s face flushed faster than Karkat thought was humanly possible.

    “ _John_!” Jade barked.

    “We’re not flirting!” Tavros snapped indignantly.

    “Whatever you say. I just don’t wanna walk in on you two having sex.”

    This time, Karkat did punch John, although it was only in his shoulder and half-assed. Karkat nearly dropped his basket of offerings in the process and barely caught it with a yelp. “This is why we can’t be ‘best friends’. Because you’re a fucking asshat,” Karkat declared as if it was obvious. “Look, you almost made me drop my shit.”

    “How did I have anything to do with you intentionally letting go of it to hit me?”

    “Well someone had to,” Jade interjected.

    John stuck his tongue out in her direction even though she hadn’t even turned to face him in the first place. Karkat snickered, and John gave him a look as if Karkat had just had the audacity to deck him right then and there. The little smile on Karkat’s face immediately vanished, and hescowled at John. “What?” Karkat demanded.

    “Nothing,” John muttered, the shock still evident on his face as he turned to face the two in front of them. He only glanced over to Karkat every now and then. “Is that the first time you’ve laughed?” he asked after a moment.

    Karkat’s face felt hot, either from anger or something else that he really didn’t want to think about. “Of course not, shit skull. I’m a grown man, and you think I’ve never laughed before in my entire life?”

    “Well I haven’t even seen you smile yet until just now!”

    “You’ve known me for, what, two or three hours now? And you expect me to smile as much as all you other senseless idiots within that minuscule time frame?”

    John stopped walking altogether. “Why do you get so offended by everything I do?”

    Karkat, who had walked past him, placed his basket down and turned to him. “Because I get offended just from looking at you.” He crossed his arms, silently challenging John to retaliate.

    John dropped his basket and stepped a little too close to Karkat. “Well that’s your problem, then, now isn’t it?”

    Karkat grit his teeth and not-so-gently shoved John out of his personal bubble. “You’re my problem!”

    John didn’t budge and thrusted his palms into Karkat’s shoulders. “Step off! Do you _not_ want to eat dinner tonight? Because I fucking do!”

    Karkat staggered back a couple steps, fuming. “How about you eat dirt instead?” Before John could ask what that even meant, Karkat lunged at him, bringing John to the ground under him. The audible splash in the mud that the two of them made, along with John’s high-pitched shriek of surprise, pulled Jade’s and Tavros’s attention from their conversation.

    “What the hell?!” Jade shouted at them as she and Tavros watched them roll around in the mud, cursing and grunting. The fight didn’t last longer than a minute; before it could be broken up, John already had Karkat lying prone under him. They both remained there, panting heavily with John’s hands clamped around Karkat’s shoulders, a knee digging into Karkat’s hip, and grime smeared across both of their faces. Karkat just stared up at John with wide eyes; he’d been beaten in plenty of fights, but never that quickly. It should’ve been terrifying, yet whatever it was that kept him frozen in place was not fear.

    John was the first to break the dazebetween them. He burst out laughing and let go to jump to his feet. Karkat still couldn’t seem to find any strength in his limbs until John leaned down with a big grin on his face and presented to Karkat an open hand. Still seemingly stunned, Karkat took theoffer and allowed John to pull him up out of the uncomfortably warm muck.

    John was the only one smiling. Tavros was obviously confused, and anyone could tell how angry Jade was without even looking at her. “Are you done yet?” she demanded once John and Karkat had regained their composure.

    “Yeah, we’re good,” John answered nonchalantly, unbothered by her scowl.

    “Good. Let’s go.” Jade curtly turned and continued on down the path. Tavros immediately followed, and after picking up their baskets, so did John and Karkat. John seemed content as he walked beside Karkat, still grinning to himself like a dork. Karkat wondered if that was really all he needed to get that anger out of his system.

    As they neared the main sanctuary, all four of them took a left and followed the slender walkway that led to all the auxiliary buildings. When they arrived at the kitchen and escaped the steady rainfall, the small southern girl that Karkat saw earlier was sitting on one of the countertops, waiting for them and nibbling on a roll. Her clothing and hair were wet, but her skin was dry; she had been inside for a while.

    Jade was the first inside. “Hey, Nepeta,” she mumbled as she pulled the shirt off of her basket and squeezed it out.

    “Hi,” Nepeta chimed before taking a big bite of bread while everyone filed in. “What happened to you two?” she asked around the mouthful, pointing at John and Karkat, who were still covered in more mud and sand than rain water. Before anyone could answer, Nepeta held up her hand to silence them and swallowed her food. “Dave wants to see you,” she announced. “He’s in the sanctuary.” When the pair neglected to move, she waved dismissively at them. “Bye,” she insisted. Although they both had several questions, John and Karkat placed their bundles down and headed back out into the storm without a word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional information about the chapter can be found here:   
> https://underscarletskies.tumblr.com/post/177578854290/chapter-3-notes  
> Once again, a huge thank you to my editing team for all of their help!


	4. Chapter 4

    The rain had mitigated somewhat by the time John led Karkat out into the downpour and to some nearby stairs that went up the side of the enormous sanctuary building. The covered hypostyle hall provided partial shelter from the weather as they silently walked between its imposing pillars, but the wind drove a gentle mist beneath its roof. After the short walk, they arrived at an enormous, ornate set of double doors inlaid with gold and colorful jewels. Karkat reached forward to knock, but before his knuckles made contact, a tremendous voice boomed through that couldn’t have been Dave’s but most certainly was. “Come in,” he called. John was the first to grab a gold handle and pull open one of the heavy doors. It audibly scraped the stone floor as it languorously swung open. Karkat gawked as John casually walked past him into the way-too-big interior of the sanctuary. 

    The room seemed unreal, both in size and atmosphere. The worn stone underfoot became marble tile, cleaner than Karkat had ever seen. The walls glittered with precious stones, depicting images so detailed that it would take hours just to absorb all that a hand could cover. As Karkat belatedly followed John in, he could feel the air get heavier with some force that seemed to be trying to drive them out. He glanced upwards, but he couldn’t see any ceiling; there was only a soft, bright glow high above them as if a vast cloud was acting as a veil for a glaring sun that wasn’t there. The door shut behind them with a gentle thud, and the sound of the storm was instantly muted. Karkat could hear the sound of his and John’s breathing in the newfound silence once they both came to a stop. The soft, pristine mood of the room made the invisible weight on Karkat’s shoulders seem out of place. 

    “Have you figured your shit out yet?” that same mighty voice implored. Karkat’s gaze, which had been fixated by everything around him, reached Dave at last, who was directly in front of him and John. His mouth felt dry, and that force burdening his back felt immensely heavier. 

    Dave definitely did  _ not _ look the way Karkat remembered. He must have been seven or eight meters tall, but it was hard to tell with him stretched across that luxurious throne of vibrant, velveteen pillows and gilded intricacies. Over one delicate-looking armrest hung his long legs, obsidian black from the knees with gleaming scale plates and corvus feet at the end. His curled talons looked as big as sickles and twice as thick. His head rested against the other armrest, and his arms themselves were folded neatly over his bare stomach, birdlike from the elbows down just like his legs. A gigantic, glossy crow’s wing sprawled splendidly out from under his back, to the ground, and towards John and Karkat. Its twin was presumably still folded beneath him, and matching tail feathers curled down to the ground under the weight of his legs. Karkat felt the sudden urge to collapse to his knees and weep under the increasingly overwhelming weight in the air. 

    John stepped forwards. It appeared to take a great deal of effort for him to get so close. “Yes sir,” he answered firmly. Karkat could only nod; he felt as though he’d topple if he tried to move his tongue. 

    “Good to know. I guess I’ll be seeing you both at dinner, then.” The sound of Dave’s voice made Karkat’s skin erupt into goosebumps, and his insides felt swollen. “If I were you, I’d spend my time getting cleaned up until then.”

    “That’s the plan,” John chimed, attempting a cheerful tone despite the strain of speaking. 

    Dave acknowledged his response with a nod, followed by an awkward silence as Dave picked at the edges of the scales along his wrist indolently. John did not move, so neither did Karkat. Then again, he didn’t feel like he could if he wanted to.

    “Better get going,” Dave belatedly announced. “Karkat looks like he’s about to puke.”

    Suddenly, Karkat’s feet no longer felt cemented to the ground, but his mind was too hazy and distant for him to make his body move. John was generous enough to grab him by the forearm and haul him back in the direction of the exit. After a few staggered steps, Karkat finally regained control of his limbs and began to walk alongside him, but John kept his grasp on his arm. He could tell that Karkat was still on the verge of collapsing, and if not that, he had already tripped twice within the time it took to get halfway across the threshold. After John shoved the door open, they stepped outside, and Karkat immediately took the opportunity to lean his back against it once it shut. Although the invisible weight had dissipated as the distance between them and Dave grew, and although Karkat’s chest no longer felt like bursting, his legs still felt too delicate to hold him. He slid down the door until he was seated on the wet stone floor, panting laboriously. John watched with an amused smile, but he too was considerably out of breath.

    Karkat dropped his chin to his chest; his head was too heavy to hold. “What  _ was _ that?” he asked after allowing himself a minute or two to recover. “The hell kind of place is this? Did we just die?” He laughed bitterly and dragged his hands down his face before looking up at John. “And how are you still okay?” 

    John crouched down beside him. The storm had passed by now, but the ground was still too wet for John to comfortably sit. “You’ll get used to it,” he reassured Karkat. “Well, kinda.” He snorted. Then, they were quiet again. The only sound was the muffled rustle of lingering water dripping through the gardens below.

    “So he really  _ is _ a god,” Karkat muttered aloud once he lifted his head again and then tilted it back against the door. John nodded soberly, staring out into the vast desert beyond the temple walls. 

    “Yeah, Jade and I didn’t believe him when we first got here either.”

    “And when was that?”

    John discharged a long breath between puckered lips. “It is hard to tell time here,” he answered when his puffed cheeks deflated, “but I know it was a long, long time ago.” Before Karkat could question him any further, he stood with a sigh. “Come on. I am tired of sitting around in wet clothes and waiting for the next storm. Let’s get out of here.” 

    Feeling sufficiently rejuvenated, Karkat rose on his own accord. “Yeah, we should probably wash off all this shit before I start ripping the flesh from my bones.” He scratched his shoulder and watched the dried grit shower down to his feet. He grimaced, and John laughed, to which Karkat responded with an exaggerated eye roll and purposely brushed against John as he walked past. The two headed for the stairs, Karkat leading, only to realize that he had no idea where he was going. He stopped in his tracks and looked inquisitively at John. “Do you even have a bathhouse here?” 

    John continued past him. “Nope. I usually use the washing basin, but some of us use the ponds like animals,” he sneered. “‘Some of us’ meaning Jade.”

    “And us today. I don’t think a fucking bowl of water will be enough to fix just how fucked up we look.” 

    John groaned; he knew Karkat had a point. “Okay. But you have to promise not to break my nose when I complain, because I will.” 

    Only when Karkat managed out a rather reluctant, “Fine,” did they continue to walk. This time, they took the stairs down the front of the building and traversed the main walkway, mud squelching obscenely under their bare feet. The trek seemed to take longer than ever while Karkat focused on the feeling of the grime on his skin and his impatience to rid himself of it already. 

    When they arrived at one of the two ponds, John walked alongside its angular perimeter to the closest corner, where a set of wide, mossy stairs were submerged in the murky water. He shed his remaining clothing, unaware of the way Karkat immediately averted his gaze, and descended the underwater steps. Karkat hastily shoved off his clothing, slipped off his jewelry, and headed down behind him before John would have the chance to check if Karkat was still following him. The staircase ended at the pond’s sandy bed, which could not be seen through the cool, waist-high water. As John waded deeper, the water rose up his body until it nearly engulfed his lean shoulders. Karkat caught himself staring and quickly forced himself to instead return his attentions to his own body. 

    By now, the dense clouds overhead had cleared enough for the gilt afternoon sun to spill its warm light down over the temple in broad patches. Karkat seated himself on one of the steps, letting his legs hang over the sheer drop off to the side. The soft light was greatly appreciated, as it allowed him and John to better see the desiccated mud that they were rubbing from their skin. While he scraped a particularly stubborn chunk of muck out of the curly hairs on his shin, Karkat looked up into the sky. The sun was nearing that point when it became like the rich flesh of a cantaloupe and made the clouds appear drenched in sweet honey. During any other time of the year, the warmth it brought would be a comfort this late in the evening, but presently, the season’s heat made it unbearable. Karkat pushed himself off of his perch on the stairs, allowing more of the water to envelope his body and cool his skin. 

    Neither Karkat nor John spoke as they washed themselves. For once, John was keeping his distance, and Karkat wasn’t about to complain. The burgeoning heat made time seem to move ever more slowly, reminding Karkat of the night before. The memory seemed so distant, as if it was from different reality altogether. He bent his knees, sinking lower into the relief of the drink as he watched John tip his head back into the water to wash the sand from his kinky hair. 

    The moment of peace lasted long enough for the sun to press closer to the sharp edge of the temple walls, which blocked their view of the horizon from the ground. Karkat finished cleaning long before then, but he waited for John to return to the little staircase before he joined him. All remained quiet until they attempted to dress themselves in their damp clothes. 

    “Ugh, this sucks,” John lamented dramatically. 

    “Yeah, it does, but you don’t have to bitch and moan about it.” Admittedly, Karkat wanted to voice just how bothersome it was to have cold, soaked ceremonial silk catch on his wet legs with every attempt he made to draw it up to his hips, but he preferred to shame John for grumbling about it instead. 

    “I know, but I want to.” John flashed Karkat an arrogant grin. 

    “I bet you want to get punched in the face, too.”

    “Maybe I do.” John’s tone had no malice; he was just bantering. 

    Karkat decided to play along. “Wow, John, I had no idea you were into that kind of thing. I’ll keep that in mind next time we’re intimate.” John blew a raspberry and started laughing. In turn, Karkat smiled to himself. “Come on, dumbass,” he continued as he gathered his discarded jewelry. “We need some dry clothes.” 

    After the long day he’d had, Karkat was unexpectedly relaxed while they walked back towards the congregation of auxiliary buildings around the primary temple. Maybe it was the exhaustion, both emotional and physical, that sedated his nerves as he and John argued good-naturedly until they stopped at a small building Karkat hadn’t been to yet. 

    “This is my place,” John answered before Karkat had even gotten a chance to ask the question. Upon entering, Karkat found himself in what appeared to be a small library. Untouched books were packed into shelves on every wall and created a lone encove on the opposite wall where a meager fireplace resided. Most of the sparse furniture had been untidily relocated to one side of the room to make space for a couple of plain chests and a hefty straw mattress on the ground at the other side. 

    Once again, John spoke before Karkat could open his mouth. “They never actually built bedrooms in this place, mostly because there are not actually supposed to be living people here. We make do.” He squatted before one of the chests and opened it. “You can wear some of my clothes until Nepeta goes out to get some for you.” 

    The fact that they were able to leave came as a surprise to Karkat, but now was not the time to be asking questions, especially with a faceful of linen that John had just thrown at him. Karkat shrieked a short “Hey!” of surprise and slight offense, and then proceeded to clothe himself as he muttered empty curses under his breath. John laughed as he too dressed himself. Thereafter, they left for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional information about the chapter can be found here:   
> https://underscarletskies.tumblr.com/post/179117054485/chapter-4-notes  
> As always, a huge thank you to my editing team for all of their help!


End file.
